Italy stops work in protest at new labour law

Italy's first full-day general strike for 20 years brought much of the country to a standstill yesterday, raising the stakes in a bitter battle between trade unions and the government about changes in labour law.

The massive response to the strike call underlined just how polarised Italy has become, with trade unionists determined to resist what they see as the erosion of fundamental workers' rights and Silvio Berlusconi, the prime minister, adamant that he has a political mandate for reform.

Sergio Cofferati, the leader of the largest and most militant union, said that energy consumption was equivalent to that of a Sunday, confirming the strikers' success in halting economic activity. Most air and rail transport came to a stop, while factories, schools, banks and post offices closed in support of the strike, which was backed by all the main unions.

"The government is moving in exactly the opposite direction to dialogue, but we won't stop until we have achieved our objectives," Mr Cofferati, secretary of the CGIL union, told a crowd of more than 200,000 people in Florence. "It has been an extraordinary day throughout Italy," he said.

The strike was called to oppose planned changes to article 18 of the 30-year-old labour law, which obliges employers to reinstate workers who can prove they were unjustly sacked. The government wants to replace the right to reinstatement with financial compensation in a limited number of specific cases. Workers see it as the thin end of a wedge that could dismantle long-established rights and protections.

The issue has galvanised a demoralised opposition and propelled Mr Cofferati into the limelight as a potential political challenger to Mr Berlusconi.

Emotions were further heightened by the Red Brigades' killing last month of Marco Biagi, the architect of the proposed changes.

Many Italian journalists, worried by Mr Berlusconi's extensive media influence, backed the strike, preventing the publication of most newspapers yesterday and drastically reducing radio and television coverage of the general strike. Among the few newspapers that did publish were Il Giornale, owned by Mr Berlusconi's brother, and Il Foglio, controlled by his wife.

Mr Berlusconi had said he hoped all sides could return to the negotiating table once the unions had used their opportunity to let off steam. The success of the strike, however, will make it very difficult for either side to give ground.